Those few lines don't look like it much but it marks one of the more significant changes in Rockbox I've seen. The often requested option to make changes to the Main Menu can now be done by the average user without knowing how to write a single line of code.

All you need is a build from after the time of the announcement, finding the config.cfg file in the .Rockbox folder and a text editor. Then it's just a matter of following the directions from the manual

Quote:

13.1.1 Customising The Main Menu

It is possible to customise the main menu, i.e. to reorder or to hide some of its items. To accomplish this, the file /.rockbox/config.cfg must be edited (presumably on the computer while the player is connected to it via USB). There, the line starting with root menu order: must be edited (or created if it is not present yet).

The line should look like root menu order:items, where “items” is a comma separated list (no spaces around the commas!) of the following words: bookmarks, files, wps, settings, recording, radio, playlists, plugins, system_menu, shortcuts. Each of the words, if it occurs in the list, activates the appropriate item in the main menu. The order of the items is given by the order of the words in the list. The items whose words do not occur in the list will be hidden, with one exception: the menu item “Settings” will be shown even if its word is not in the list (it is added as the last item then).

Use the line root menu order:- to reset the menu order

Only the main menu can be customised this way, submenus can not.

I haven't found a way to make it not work as long as the basic requirements are met. I've placed the required line at the front, middle and end of the .cfg file and the menu still displays properly. I have put the same item in the root_menu_order line several times and there's an instance of that menu item, in the order I listed, that shows up in the menu. I guess there may be a way to goof it up if I tried hard enough but it seems as long as I followed the basic directions things I got the main menu I wanted.

I really like that you can control the order the menu items are listed. It's not much effort to scroll past the items I don't often use but it's easier for me to remember fewer key presses for blind operation. For me one of the best parts is that I have created and named multiple .cfg files and "play" them to change my menu options in a few button presses.

One of the more common complaints I've seen about Rockbox has been the amount of information that's presented in the default main menu. The number of menu items available seems to overwhelm a number people with the variety of choices possible. I've seen quite a few posts here and on other sites where someone installed Rockbox and uninstalled quickly when they found they couldn't eliminate or reorder main menu items.

I think once they know that they can easily cut that down to only what they actually use a lot of the feeling that Rockbox is too"busy" should go away. I've been using Rockbox for a few years now and I'm fairly familiar with the old Main menu. I've cut that down to just Files, Playlist Catalog, and Settings. It was easy to use before but eliminating all the things I never use, Recording, Radio etc. has made made it even easier.

Thanks again everyone involved with the Rockbox project. You transform some decent DAPs into great music machines.

JDGordon is really on a roll lately. I already included some of his recent changes in WPS code in my themes - the new %and/%or stuff is quite versatile in keeping code bloat down. Well, guess I have to update my custom builds to include the main menu changes as well.

I have to say it's much appreciated but having as a plugin instead of in the Settings menu seems a bit odd. It may have just been easier to get it implemented as a plugin instead a change to the entire UI. I've seen it get real ugly over some of the most innocuous seeming things. Since I'm not a coder I don't need to understand why. I'll just say thanks to the people that made this convenience possible and enjoy.

So far it's easier for me editing the .cfg than using this plugin. That's quite possibly due to me having a base fixed.cfg file I copy to all my .rockbox folders. It just has the starting volume and main menu as a start and then I add my per DAP theme settings. That way I never blow my ears out after I've been using to power an external source and I have the menus laid out the way I prefer.

I always have my Shortcut menu set as the top menu item. That points to my other .cfg files I've got set for different conditions. I also have the WPS set to use shortcuts instead of the quickscreen. That makes shifting out of my fixed.cfg to something just right for the situation just a couple of keystrokes if I'm just booting or in the middle of listening.